


Let's Play a Game Called "We're Best Friends But I'd Totally Go Out With You If You Asked"

by TheConsultingHunterInTheTARDIS



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Cool, Fluff, Gentleman Kris, I think that's it - Freeform, M/M, Sassy Tao, Seuol Fashion Week, Tattoo Artist Tao, Temporarily Unrequited Love, Unrequited Crush, alright, idk how to tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-18
Updated: 2015-08-18
Packaged: 2018-04-15 10:43:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4603749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheConsultingHunterInTheTARDIS/pseuds/TheConsultingHunterInTheTARDIS
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tao and Kris have known each other for about two years, and on Tao's birthday, Kris has a few things to ask.</p><p>aka the one where Tao is a sassy bitch and Kris is a gentleman who just happens to come into his tattoo parlor</p>
            </blockquote>





	Let's Play a Game Called "We're Best Friends But I'd Totally Go Out With You If You Asked"

**Author's Note:**

> Okay I'm sorry the summary is shit  
> Disclaimer: I know nothing about actual tattooing so please don't hurt me if you're a tattoo artist (I'm realllllllly sorrrrrryyyyyyy)
> 
> okay enjoy :)

Tao glanced at the clock on the black wall of his tattoo parlor.

One hour until they were supposed to close.

Tao sighed as he ran his hand through his red hair. “No one else is probably gonna come,” he muttered as he surveyed the empty shop. “I might as well start wrapping it up in here.”

However, as soon as he said those words, a tall man with blonde hair walked in. “Hi, I’d like a tattoo-”

“Ugh,” Tao groaned, throwing his head back dramatically.

The blonde man’s eyes widened. “Um, are you okay?”

Tao glared at him. “What do you want?” he said tersely, pressing his lips together in a thin line.

The man scratched his neck nervously and pulled a paper out of his pocket. “Could you do this one?” he asked as he handed it to Tao, who took it.

It was a treble clef with a staff outlining it and a few musical notes here and there.

Tao glanced back up at him. “Where would you like this?”

Kris blinked. “Um, on my right shoulder, I guess.”

Tao rolled his eyes, annoyed. “Okay,” shrugged. “Do you want it this exact size or…?”

“I would like it in that exact size, yes,” the tall man said.

“Can I have your name, sir?” Tao raised an eyebrow, getting up from his seat at the front desk.

“Its Wu Yifan Kris,” the man said immediately.

Tao sighed again. “What, are you gonna give me your date of birth, too?” he asked sarcastically, but when the man looked at him, confused, Tao rolled his eyes. “Never mind,” he muttered. “Go sit over there and wait while I get my shit together.”

The tall man did as he was told and waited for Tao to get the ink and everything else that was needed together. “Do you want it all black or do you want colors?”

“Black. Black is fine,” Kris said simply.

“Alright, cool. Now take off your shirt.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me.”

“But-”

“Take off your shirt or else I will do it for you, sir.”

“...Okay,” Kris relented as he pulled the piece of clothing over his head, revealed a pretty toned stomach. But then again, Tao also had a toned stomach, so he was not impressed.

“Alright, Kris, get on your stomach so I can do my thing,” Tao commanded.

Kris, who now looked as if he regretted coming inside the parlor, again did as he was told.

Tao prepared his tools of torture- I mean, tattoo artistry things and sighed again. “Well, prepare yourself for pain, Mr. Wu.”

“Why does this feel a bit like a Fifty Shades of Grey scene?” the taller man muttered under his breath.

Instead of answering, Tao began his work of doing the tattoo. Kris showed no signs of being bothered by it. In fact, he seemed almost content.

“Is this your first tattoo?” Tao asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes,” Kris answered, his tone lighter than it should’ve been, in Tao’s opinion.

“Really? You’ve got some high pain tolerance.”

“Its a gift.”

“A very handy gift you got there,” Tao complimented him. And Tao complimenting anyone but himself was very rare.

It was silent for a few moments before Kris asked. “How long have you been doing tattoos?”

“Three years.”

“Did you do your own tattoos?”

“Hell no, that’s dangerous,” Tao shook his head. “No, I had a friend of mine do them.”

“Well, I like them,” Kris stated.

Tao smiled. “Good, you should like them, because I designed the tattoos myself.”

Kris laughed. “You seem a bit full of yourself.”

“How can someone not be full of themselves when they’re as pretty as I am?”

“...You make a good point.”

“Of course I do, I always make a good point.”

“You’re very modest,” Kris stated dryly.

Tao smirked. “Thanks,” he responded sarcastically. “I try.”

“You must be pretty good if you started a few years ago,” Kris observed

“You could say that,” Tao shrugged.

“Oh really?”

“I only started when I was eighteen, I still need to work on my technique,” Tao admitted.

“You seem very modest when it comes to tattooing.”

“Thats because I’m not that good, compared to others in the area.”

“Um, my friends raved about about the tattoo’s you gave them. They fucking raved about it.”

Tao’s cheeks began to have a pinkish tint. “Tell them I said thanks.”

“That I will do.”

It was silent for about ten minutes as Tao did his work, concentrating on the black lines that were formed by his needle.

Kris interrupted the quiet. “You know, for your thug-like appearance, you’re a lot more sassier than I expected.”

“You mean my excessive piercings and tattoos?” Tao laughed. “Yeah, I get that a lot.”

Kris shook his head slightly. “No, its not the tattoos, or the piercings. Those are fine. You just happen to have the face of an assassin.”

Tao hadn’t heard that one, ever, and he said so, too. “No one has ever made comment on my face… Do I really look like an assassin?”

“Sorry, but yeah.”

“Well, you don’t look all that friendly, either.”

“Oh, I know that. Its actually kind of funny seeing people so intimidated of someone like me, who is, ultimately, harmless.”

“You don’t look harmless.”

“Exactly.”

Tao grinned. “You’re pretty interesting.”

Kris hummed inquisitively. “Am I now?”

“Yep. I like you, you aren’t boring.”

“Good to know I’m not boring.”

“You know what I mean.”

“Do I?”

“I think you do, you little smart ass.”

“Compared to you I’m not little.”

“...How big is your dick?”

“...I didn’t mean that kind of little, asshole.”

Tao smirked. “But really, how long?”

Kris looked back at him with a smirk. “About eight inches.”

“I’m about an inch smaller.”

“That’s nice.”

“Thank you.”

Kris rolled his eyes. “There’s nothing like making friends because you complimented each other’s dicks…”

Tao laughed as he concentrated on the tattoo. He was three-fourths done with it, for he did his tattoos quickly, which is probably why people came to him. He did great tattoos, but it took him less time than the time most tattoo artists took to do the exact same thing. “I’m almost done,” he informed Kris.

Kris looked back at him, his eyebrow raised. “Really? That was quick.”

“That’s what I’m known for.”

“You really are good at this, aren’t you?”

Tao smiled slightly. “I guess I am.”

“Stop guessing. You are good. I wouldn’t be here if you weren’t,” Kris deadpanned.

Tao wiped away the excess ink as he put away his tools. “Alright, I think I’m done. Go look in the mirror and tell me what you think.”

Kris did as he was told and looked at his back through the mirror with a raised eyebrow. “Ooh,” he raised his eyebrows, satisfied. “I like it. A lot. Wow.”

Tao wiped his hands. “Really? Are you sure it’s okay?”

“Yeah,” Kris looked at him, his smile wide. “Of course it is, thanks, Huang-ssi.”

Tao raised an eyebrow at his formality. “We literally just compared dick sizes, and you’re seriously calling me “ssi”?”

Kris shrugged. “Eh, yeah, I guess.”

The shorter of the two rolled his eyes. “Call me Tao.”

Kris put his shirt back on and went to shake Tao’s hand. “Alright then, Tao. I’ll come by and visit again,” he said as he pulled out his wallet to pay for the tattoo.

Tao took the money. “I’ll be looking forward to that, considering this was the highlight of my day.”

Kris smirked. “Oh really?”

“Don’t get cocky, bitch, I said you were the highlight of my day, as in barely anyone interesting came in.”

“Ooh, that’s cold.”

“Sir, I’m always cold. Also, get out, I wanna sleep.”

“You live here?”

“No, I live in an apartment about a block from here.”

Kris nodded. “Oh, okay. I see,” he stepped towards the door. “Do you want me to walk you home?”

Tao raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

Kris grinned. “Someone as pretty as you shouldn’t be walking the streets alone, you know.”

Tao blinked. “You said I looked like an assassin,” he scoffed.

Kris leaned towards him. “An assassin with a pretty face. They’re always the most dangerous,” the left corner of Kris’s lips twitched. “Because they enchant you to the point where they’ve already killed you, mentally and emotionally. All they really have to do is pull a trigger.”

“Um,” Tao cleared his throat. “Alright, you can walk me home,” he murmured, getting his stuff together. “Come on, let’s go.”

Kris smiled triumphantly. “Okay,” he followed Tao out of the tattoo parlor.

Tao smiled shyly. “Don’t get too excited, okay, you’re not even gonna come into my house.”

Kris walked beside him, smiling down on him. “That’s fine. I’m walking with you, so that’s alright.”

“Alright, then. Cool.”

Two Years Later

Tao grimaced as he picked up his phone from his bedside, wondering who the hell was calling this early. It was 10:45 am, for God’s sake.”

“Hello?” he croaked into the device, running a hand through his hair.

“Gucci Pandaaa!” came the familiar voice of his best friend, Kris. “Happy 23rd birthday, you little bitch!”

Tao blinked. “You remembered?” he got out of bed, checking the calendar. Sure enough, it said “Sunday, May 2nd”.

“Of course!” Kris said from the other line. “Now open your door so I can give you your birthday present!”

Tao put on his red bathrobe and made his way toward the door of his apartment, groggy as hell. When he opened his door, he found an over enthusiastic Wu Kris on the other side with a box in his hand.

“Happy birthday!” Kris threw his arms around him. Tao felt his heart swell with the happiness that he felt when he was around his clueless best friend. Kris pulled back from the hug and shoved a box into Tao’s hand. “Here, open this.”

Tao raised an eyebrow as he opened it. “You didn’t have to- Oh my god,” he pulled out a box of earrings. “Are these-?”

“Real gold and silver, yes,” Kris grinned. “You only deserve the best, Taozi.”

Tao pulled out the dragon earring as he blushed. “Um, uh, thanks,” he walked back to his room, and Kris followed him.

“I got you two chain earrings, one spike earring, and one dragon earring,” Kris looked proud of himself. “Also, you need to get dressed, because we’re going out.”

Tao groaned. “Kris, its almost 11 am, let me sleep at least until 12.”

“Nope,” Kris went to Tao’s closet and began rummaging through the clothes. “We’re going. Where’s that grey plaid jacket that I got you? And the grey scarf?” Kris asked. “Wait, nope, found it.”

Tao moaned and fell to his bed, trying to get back to sleep, but Kris would have none of it. “Come on, go and shower. I’ll pick out your outfit, while you get clean, okay?”

Tao rolled off of his bed and got his towel. “Sometimes, I really hate you,” he murmured, but there was no truth to that statement. They both knew that Tao cared about Kris, but Tao knew better than anyone just how much he cared for Kris. He could insult the elder man forever, but at the end of the day, Tao loved Kris. He did, and there was nothing that could change that.

Tao got under the way-too-hot water (he liked to prepare himself for the Lakes of Fire in Hell) and began to wash himself, thinking about the past two years.

After Kris had walked him home, he’d wheedled Tao’s phone number out of the younger man, saying something about wanting to “make personal appointments”. However, the next day, Tao got a series of texts from Kris saying he wanted to hang out. Tao, having nothing better to do, agreed, and since then, he has decided that that was the best and worst decision he’s ever made. The best because knowing Kris was like knowing a ray of sunshine that warms your heart, but the worst because like a ray of sunshine, he was unattainable and untouchable by Tao, which was unfair in all possible ways. Kris just didn’t seem attracted to Tao in any romantic way, he just wanted to have a friendship with the younger. And Tao, not wanting to ruin one of the best friendship he’s had, ever, has gone along with the “friendship” thing, because there was no question about it: he had to be in the presence of Kris at least once a day.

He finished showering and wrapped a towel around his waist, and then proceeded to brush his teeth.

“Tao?” Kris knocked on the door. “Are you done showering?”

Tao spit out his mouthful of toothpaste. “Yeah.”

Kris popped his head inside the bathroom, smiling. “I got your outfit together,” he shoved a pile of clothes into Tao’s hands. “Here,” and then he disappeared behind the door.

The shorter of the two sighed and finished brushing his teeth. He then looked through the pile of clothes. A black tank top with a grey plaid coat, a scarf, and some black jeans, which Tao approved of. He got dressed quickly and came out of the bathroom, still sighing. “I don’t wanna go wherever the hell you’re taking me.”

***

“You’re my date to a fashion show,” Kris smirked, but on the inside he was shaking like a salsa dancer. If Tao said no, then he could say goodbye to their friendship.

Tao blinked at him, surprised. “E-excuse me?”

Kris nodded, biting his lip. “Yep. I got us tickets to Seoul Fashion Week.”

“Seriously?” he raised his eyebrows. “I need to sit down for a moment.”

Kris sat by him and leaned towards him, putting his head on Tao’s shoulder, enjoying the way it fit, as if Kris’s head were meant to be there. “Take your time. We won’t need to be there until about 1 pm.”

Tao glared at him playfully. “Well then why the hell would you wake me up at 11?”

Kris smiled as Tao’s anger. “Because I wanted to spend quality time with you,” he took Tao’s hand with his own, holding his breath slightly, waiting for the outcome of his action.

Tao’s eyes widened. “Um…”

Kris raised his hand, nervous as hell. “Just- just hear me out, okay?”

Tao nodded, but his eyes looked panicked. ‘Gotta be quick with my explanation, then,’ he thought.

Kris took a deep breath. “Okay. So, um, funny story: I really like you. And, um, I would really like it if, you know, you went out with me not as a friend, but as, um, as an actual date,” he let out the breath he was holding. “Only if you want to though!” he added quickly, afraid of what Tao’s response would be. 

If Tao refused, Kris wouldn’t know what to do with himself. Tao was a highlight in his life, and he was immensely glad to have met the younger in that tattoo parlor two years ago. Everything Tao brought to their friendship was endearing to Kris, whether it be his sassy sarcasm, his dread of the morning, or his heartfelt dreams that he rarely opened up about, because Tao wasn’t one to talk about feelings. Just the fact that he had opened up about his feelings and dreams and his life made Kris feel honored in a way that no medal or trophy could compare to, no matter how big or shiny they were. Over the two years in which they had been friends, Kris found himself wanting to be with the younger so intensely that sometimes he would have dreams of their life together, if they ever had one. Sometimes he’d wake up crying, because he yearned for that closeness with Tao so much it hurt.

Tao took a deep breath and then exhaled. “Well-”

“Yes?” Kris said hopefully, waiting for his answer.

“Let me tell you a funny story,” Tao ran a hand through his blonde hair, which Kris adored. “So, once upon a time, there was a guy named Wu Kris Yifan, and he was the most annoying bitch on the planet. For about a week. After that week, he started to grow on me. After a month or so, I fell in love with him. He made me feel like I could tell him anything, whether it be that I am a serial killer or a complete brony, which, of course, I am not, and still want to be friends with me. For a long time, I wondered, ‘What the hell did I do to get such an amazing friend?’ He’s perfect, beyond perfect even, and I’m helplessly in love with his stupid ass,” Tao sighed at looked at Kris with a playfully annoyed look on his face. “Do that answer your question, Galaxy Boy?”

Kris grinned uncontrollably and threw his arms around Tao, who hugged him back. “Yes, it does,” he buried his head into the crook of Tao’s neck as he sighed with relief. “It does.  
Tao laughed. “So we’re dating?”

“Yes.”

“I can roll with that.”

“Of course you can, you’re dating me, for God’s sake.”

“Bitch, don’t get cocky.”

Kris pulled out of the embrace. “Okay,” he said, still smiling. “I love you,” he said after a they had a few minutes of silence.

Tao blinked and glanced, but recovered from the shock quickly. “I know,” he smirked, and then added, softly. “I love you, too,” and kissed the elder man quickly.

Kris, who was somewhere in heaven, closed his eyes in bliss. “Do we even have to go to Fashion Week…? Can we just lay here and talk?”

Tao scoffed. “Haha, no. We’re going. I am not missing Fashion Week, we can do that later.”

Kris rolled his eyes. “Yes, Gucci Panda.”


End file.
